Kossuth Monument, Budapest

Kossuth Lajos square is situated in the Lipótváros neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary, on the bank of the Danube. Its most notable landmark is the Hungarian Parliament Building (Hungarian: Országház). There is a station of the M2 (East-West) line of the Budapest Metro on the square as well as a stop for the scenic Tram No. 2.Name and HistoryThe square, renamed in 1927 in honor of Lajos Kossuth was previously known by several names including; Országház tér ("Parliament Square") (1898–1927), Tömő tér or Stadt Schopper Platz in German ("Landfill Square")(1853–1898). This name recalls how the low-lying territory flanking the river, then outside the town of Pest, was filled with rubbish to raise the level of the ground. The first recorded name was Stadtischer Auswind Platz ("Unloading Square for the Ships") in 1820.In the second half of the 19th century, great public buildings were erected on the square and it became the symbolic centre of the Hungarian state. The Hungarian Parliament Building is located on the square.Facing the Parliament, the Museum of Ethnography (originally the Palace of Justice) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development can be found.

Kossuth Monument Reviews

As you stand in the marvelous square bearing the name of Lajos Kossuth facing the stunning Parliament Building, look to your right and you will see at the far right end of the square a beautiful...
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By Pandamedic

One of many statues around parliament. Impressive and clean. We didn't really know who the statues where of mine .
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The Kossuth Memorial is dedicated to former Hungarian Regent-President Lajos Kossuth in front of the Hungarian Parliament Building. The memorial is an important Hungarian national symbol and scene of official celebrations. After the death of Lajos Kossuth (1894) and his sumptuous funeral in Budapest a public subscription was almost immediately announced to build a memorial for the leader of the 1848 Revolution. In 1906 the competition was won by János Horvay after long debates about the style and message of the memorial. Although the public was dissatisfied with Horvay’s idea the sculptor began working. Until 1914 all the figures of the group were completed except Kossuth himself but then the work came to a halt because of World War I. In the years following the war Horvay completed the Kossuth statue. The Kossuth Memorial was officially inaugurated in 1927 before a crowd of 100,000 people. The sculpture group depicts the members of the first Hungarian parliamentary government: Lajos Kossuth (in the middle), Pál Esterházy, Gábor Klauzál, József Eötvös, István Széchenyi, Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány, Bertalan Szemere, Ferenc Deák and Lázár Mészáros. The other side of the stone back wall are the representatives of the fighting Hungarian people. Art critics condemned the melancholic atmosphere of the memorial and the sculpture remained somewhat unpopular. The after WW2 communist regime decided the Horvay made memorial wasn’t appropriate because Kossuth was portrayed as a lethargic, troubled figure instead of an enthusiastic, suggestive leader who mobilized the whole country. This is why the Monument was removed. Zsigmond Kisfaludy Strobl won the new competition with a Neo-Saxon, Socreal sculpture group instead of the original neo-baroque-Art Nouveau artwork. However, after the change of regime in 90s a new decision was made to restore everything in the original state on Kossuth Square. So the statue by Kisfaludy Strobl was removed, and a copy of Horvay sculpture made of a better material was reinstalled in 2015. That is currently visible on Kossuth Square. Regarding the future we all are uncertain...